I Was Hungry
by Shihoshi Ryu
Summary: Shortly after Sanzo freed Goku. Our little Goku has a adventure in the kitchen that might prove to be disasterous. Please R&R!


I Was Hungry  
  
By: Shihoshi Ryu  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Saiyuki, nor will I ever. It's so sad. This story takes place a little after Sanzo freed Goku. Goku is about 9. Well, enough of my talk. On with the story!  
  
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Goku blinked owlishly around the corner. The temple was dark even though it was still daytime. Perhaps it was because of the rain. Dark clouds choked the sky.  
  
The small itan cautiously walked down the hall. The temple was unusually quiet and empty. Goku had hardly seen a monk all day. But that wasn't what was on his mind now, oh no.  
  
He was hungry.  
  
As if that were anything new. Goku had been playing in the rain, enjoying the feel of the warm raindrops on his skin. He had been absolutely ecstatic, jumping in every puddle, climbing the slick, mossy trees. Then his stomach had started growling, telling him it was time to eat.   
  
At first Goku had been reluctant to go back to the temple to get food. Sanzo's mood seemed fouler than usual whenever it rained, and god forbid what would happen if he went to Sanzo, muddy and dirty as he was, to ask for food. Sanzo would probably whack him senseless for trailing mud all over the place, calling him a brainless saru and scolding him for disturbing him.  
  
But in the end, Goku's stomach won out.  
  
Goku then decided to avoid Sanzo. After all, who said he couldn't just get food on his own and leave Sanzo be? Just to be on the safe side though, Goku had gone to clean up, washing off the mud and changing into clean clothes. He knew better than to make Sanzo mad on a rainy day, even if he didn't know why Sanzo was so moody, and was in no mood to have Sanzo scold him for making a mess.  
  
Now it was just a matter of finding the kitchen, which was not a difficult task, seeing as he often visited it when he was hungry.  
  
Goku reached the kitchen in no time. He slowly reached out his small hand and slid the door open, peeking inside to make sure he wouldn't be seen.  
  
To his surprise, there were no monks inside.  
  
This did not fit with Goku somehow. No monks? But there was always at least one monk in the kitchen! He crept inside and looked around to make sure. There were no monks. He couldn't smell any.  
  
Goku was then filled with curiosity. He had never been in the kitchen without monks around before, and thus had never really seen much of it except for the food stores, seeing as the monks would chase him out if they caught him. Now he could explore. Big golden eyes swept around, taking in the sights.  
  
Much of the kitchen seemed unfamiliar. Goku carefully explored, making sure to keep slightly hidden in case a monk should come in. The kitchen was filled with interesting items used for cooking. Goku knew plates, cups, bowls, and silverware, but other then that, he had no clue what the other items were.  
  
One of the items looked like an oversized fork with two points, another was u-shaped and could be squeezed shut over stuff. Goku opened all the drawers and cabinets, examining the contents with gleeful fascination.  
  
Then he remembered why he'd come. His stomach chose that time to let out a hungry growl. Goku peeked around. There wasn't really any food lying around. Goku sunk to the floor, hungry, his wild brown hair spilling over his shoulders.  
  
Then a small lit his face as an idea popped into his head. Cook! He had always wanted to try.  
  
Scrambling to his feet, he sniffed the air and made his way to the food store. After looking around thoughtfully, a cute, curious expression on his face, he picked out a few vegetables and items, and headed back over to the table. He pushed up a box so he could reach the counter and set down the numerous pickings.  
  
Goku stared at them for a while. Now what? Not knowing quite what to next, he searched the drawers and pulled out a large bowl. Setting on the counter, he poured two packages of powdery stuff inside, as well as a thick liquid and small of the food he taken from the stores.  
  
He stared at the mixture, beaming. Then he turned his attention to some vegetables on the counters that he'd grabbed. He vaguely remembered vegetables were usually chopped up. Grinning excitedly, he searched the drawers until he found the knife drawer.  
  
He gazed in awe at the shiny metal blades, which glistened in the dim light. Leaving the drawer open, he went back over to the stove, turning the dials like he'd seen the monks do. Then he sat patiently on the floor, waiting for something to happen.  
  
After a while the coils began to glow a pretty orange. Goku, being as naïve as ever, reached out to touch it. It was so pretty.  
  
With a small yelp, he yanked his hand back as it burned him. This made Goku stare in confusion, cradling his burnt fingers. Coming to a decision not to touch it again, he retrieved some vegetables and bread and placed them on the hot coil. Then he returned to the open knife drawer.  
  
After a moment he reached in and grabbed a handful of knifes only to drop them a moment later as they sliced into his hand. They fell to the floor with a clatter.  
  
With a whimper, Goku stared at his hand. The cut was deep, having cleanly sliced into his hand. Fresh blood oozed from the wound and Goku whimpered in pain.  
  
Then he smell smoke and heard a weird crackling noise. He turned back to the food on the stove. It was smoking. Curious, Goku stepped onto the box and hovered over it, peering.  
  
He was not prepared for what happened next.  
  
The food suddenly burst into flames in his face and Goku shrieked as it burned him. Frantically, he rubbed his burned face, nearly falling off his box, only to find that made the pain worse. Panicking, he reached out to grab the burning food, causing his hands to be burned. Somehow, he managed to turn off the stove, twisting the knob, and then grabbed the flaming food and tossed into a bucket of water. Goku then crumpled to the floor.  
  
Sobbing, he stared at his burnt arms and at the heavily bleeding cut in his hand. Hot tears rolled down as he sat on the floor, crying from the pain. Suddenly this wasn't fun anymore. He tried to cradle his wounded hands, but contact with anything made the pain worse. So he sat there, sobbing quietly.  
  
Then the door opened.  
  
* * * * * *  
  
Sanzo growled quietly as he roamed the halls. Where the hell was that stupid saru? He had searched for the past half hour and come up empty-handed.  
  
At first, he'd actually went outside, knowing that Goku was fond of playing in the rain. After 10 minutes of searching and calling, and still no Goku, he went back inside and searched the temple.  
  
Nothing.  
  
Sanzo growled. Boy, was Goku gonna get it when he found him. For his sake he'd better not be causing trouble.  
  
Sanzo paused for a minute, going over the list of places he'd searched, and places Goku tended to get into. Then it hit him.  
  
The kitchen.  
  
He mentally kicked himself. Of course the kitchen! Why hadn't he thought of it before? It was the only place he had left to look, and if Goku wasn't there, Sanzo wouldn't know where else to look.  
  
Heading quickly to the kitchen, Sanzo begin contemplating ways to punish Goku when he found him. Now was definitely not a good day for Goku to be getting on his nerves. Reaching the kitchen, he flung the door open, angry words rising to his lips.  
  
And froze when he heard a sob.  
  
Pausing, he listened. Another sob followed. Sanzo frowned and followed the sound, noting the open drawers and cupboards and the strange concoction in a large bowl.  
  
The sight that met him was certainly not what he expected.  
  
Goku was sitting on the floor, small shoulders shaking. Blood was smeared over the floor, and Goku was sitting amongst a small puddle of it. He was holding a bloody hand in his lap, and his arms were covered with burns. Tears dropped from underneath his bangs, his head hung.  
  
Sanzo was so surprised that he was speechless. What happened?  
  
"Goku?" he called quietly.  
  
Goku froze slightly and lifted his head. His cheeks were also burned, and tears poured from those large golden eyes, sobs hiccupping from his throat, a sad and miserable expression on his face.  
  
Sanzo allowed his surprise to show on his face and slowly knelt in front of Goku. Goku stared at him.  
  
"S, Sanzo," he sobbed.  
  
"What happened?" Sanzo asked.  
  
Goku's eyes squinched up slightly, then he flung himself onto Sanzo, crying miserably. At first Sanzo sat there in shock, not knowing what to do. Then, slowly, he hugged Goku, letting him cry.  
  
"It's okay," he said quietly.  
  
He sat like that for a few minutes, waiting until Goku calmed down, then pulled the itan back to look him in the face. His face held a scolding expression.  
  
"What happened?" he repeated, "What are you doing in here?"  
  
"I was hungry," Goku explained, hiccupping a sob.  
  
Sanzo rolled his eyes slightly. THERE was a big surprise.  
  
"And?" he pressed.  
  
"I wanted to cook. It look fun n' so I tried n' then it cut me n' it hurt n' it was hot n' on fire n' it burned me n'--" Goku babbled, sobbing. His sobs were heartbreaking.  
  
Sanzo shushed him. Glancing around the kitchen and what he could decipher from Goku's babbling, it was quite obvious that Goku's 'cooking' had gone terribly wrong, disastrous even. Knifes lay discarded on the floor, some of them bloody. There was a burnt, smoky smell in the air, and a bowel of god knows what sat on the counter. Sanzo also noticed burnt, blackened food sitting soggy in a bucket of water.  
  
Sighing, he sat Goku in a chair and began to clean up the mess. There was no way he could scold Goku when the boy looked so miserable, sobbing quietly from where he sat in the chair. Sanzo would simply wait until Goku was healed up a bit and then punish him.  
  
When he finished cleaning the kitchen, throwing out Goku's concoction and washing the bloody knifes, he took Goku carefully by the hand that wasn't bleeding, noting it was burnt pretty bad, and led him down the hall. Goku's sobs had stopped, but tears still slipped down his cheeks.  
  
"Sanzo?" he asked timidly.  
  
"What, saru?"  
  
"Where are the monks?"  
  
"Gathered in the main room. They'll be praying all day."  
  
Goku simply nodded. That would explain why there were no monks around.  
  
When they reached Goku's room, Sanzo sat him in a chair and went to retrieve a first aid kit. He returned with a bowl of water, rags, and bandages. Goku watched quietly as Sanzo cleaned the blood and applied a salve to the burns, then wrapped them with bandages. Then he lifted Goku's chin and cleaned his face, putting band-aids on the burns. When he finished, Goku stared at him.  
  
"Go to sleep, saru," he said firmly.  
  
Goku complied and crawled over to his bed, hesitating as he glanced back at Sanzo. Sanzo knew what he was thinking and sat in a chair.  
  
"I'm staying right here," he said, slightly annoyed.  
  
Goku nodded and crawled into bed, huddling under the covers. Glancing at Sanzo, he smiled and soon fell asleep.  
  
Sanzo sat in the chair, staring at Goku. It was hard to believe that he was so loud and troublesome when one looked at that innocent, sleeping face. Goku was curled up like a cat under the blankets, 'snug as a bug', as one would put. Sanzo thought about what had caused this mess in the first place, his mind repeating Goku's words.  
  
"I was hungry."  
  
Sanzo let out an exasperated sigh. He was always hungry.  
  
Standing, he walked over to Goku's bed and sat on the edge, staring at the itan. Suddenly the rain didn't seem to bother him so much. He reached out a brushed Goku's bangs, stroking his hair, and a rare smile graced his face.  
  
"Bakasaru."  
  
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Yay! That was so cute! Please review and tell me what you think! 


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